Nonprofits Decry Texas Abortion Law but Quietly Funded it
Texans for Lawsuit Reform and the Texas Medical Association funded the sponsors of Texas bill SB 8, yet denounce the law.

A novel approach to undermining Roe v. Wade created by Texas legislators went into effect last week, prohibiting abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Unlike all other so-called “heartbeat bills,” meant to ban abortions after electrical activity that sounds like a heartbeat is detected via ultrasound, Texas Senate Bill 8 delegates enforcement to all state residents. Private citizens can now sue an abortion provider or anyone who “aids and abets” abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy. Successful plaintiffs are awarded “statutory damages” of at least $10,000 — a bounty, in other words.
Senate Bill 8, introduced in March 2021, was co-sponsored by 91 members of the Texas legislature. It passed the State House and Senate along party lines and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on May 19. “Our creator endowed us with the right to life and yet millions of children lose their right to life every year because of abortion,” Abbott said at the bill signing ceremony. The Texas legislature, he said, “worked together on a bipartisan basis to pass a bill that I’m about to sign that ensures that the life of every unborn child who has a heartbeat will be saved from the ravages of abortion.”
Abortion providers submitted an emergency application to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to block enforcement of the law while litigation over its constitutionality proceeds in the lower courts. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 not to intervene. The majority – made up of Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett – ruled that the abortion providers failed to address “complex and novel antecedent procedural questions.” They did not opine on the constitutionality of the law, which must be litigated through the lower courts.
Chief Justice John Roberts joined Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan in dissent, highlighting the true purpose of the law’s enforcement mechanism:
The statutory scheme before the Court is not only unusual, but unprecedented. The legislature has imposed a prohibition on abortions after roughly six weeks, and then essentially delegated enforcement of that prohibition to the populace at large. The desired consequence appears to be to insulate the State from responsibility for implementing and enforcing the regulatory regime.
Justice Sonya Sotomayor concurred in a separate dissent:
No federal appellate court has upheld such a comprehensive prohibition on abortions before viability under current law. The Texas Legislature was well aware of this binding precedent. To circumvent it, the Legislature took the extraordinary step of enlisting private citizens to do what the State could not… In effect, the Texas Legislature has deputized the State’s citizens as bounty hunters, offering them cash prizes for civilly prosecuting their neighbors’ medical procedures.
Tort reform
As the Supreme Court’s dissenters stated, SB 8 deputizes citizens to unconstitutionally restrict women’s right to abortion on the state’s behalf. The political right endorses this tactic, turning decades of conservative thought about tort reform on its head.
US tort law allows individuals to sue one another to redress injuries that were intentionally or negligently caused by someone else. Sometimes the law allows for civil suits even when the injuries weren’t intentionally or negligently caused. All of these suits are referred to as “tort law.” An injury does not have to be physical; emotional distress or a violation of personal rights are also viable claims. An injured party can bring a lawsuit to obtain compensation.
Typically, only a person who has incurred personal harm can sue someone else. SB 8, however, allows all state residents to bring a lawsuit against abortion providers or anyone “aiding and abetting” an abortion after the six-week mark. The result will undoubtedly be a flood of litigation brought by those seeking the $10,000 pay-out, clogging up the court system and burying abortion providers in legal costs.
Up until this point, Republicans have generally sought to limit tort-based lawsuits. For example, in 2017 federal Republicans advanced a bill that would make it more difficult to bring medical malpractice suits and another to further regulate who can join class-action lawsuits. The same Texas Republicans who blew the door wide open on abortion litigation also shielded commercial vehicle companies from liability after an auto crash and exempted many companies from liability for exposing others to Covid-19.
Texans for Lawsuit Reform
Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) is at the forefront of Texas’ movement to reform civil litigation along conservative lines. According to their website, TLR members “want the civil justice system to be efficient and fair,” citing those who have had to “abandon their chosen professions because of the emotional and financial toll imposed by legal assaults.”
TLR’s objective is to keep litigation in its traditional and appropriate role in our society. A lawsuit takes a heavy emotional and financial toll on participants, and therefore should be the remedy of last resort to resolve disputes between parties. A lawsuit should not be used to obtain “windfall” riches for a lawyer and his client.
TLR’s Political Action Committee, which raises and spends money in elections, cites as one of its goals:
TLRPAC works to elect Texas leaders and lawmakers who understand the importance of maintaining the historic civil justice reforms that are strengthening the Texas economy and ensuring access to health care throughout the state.
With all this in mind, it is particularly notable that TLR has donated over $14.5 million to all but one of the sponsors of Texas’ new abortion law. More than half of these donations were made during the 2020 election, just months before SB 8 was first introduced. The only other organizations that have given as much money, as consistently, to SB 8 sponsors are party committees and leadership PACs.
Donations to SB 8 sponsors from Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR)
Sponsor | TLR Donations |
---|---|
Rep. Andrew Murr | $23,050 |
Rep. Ben Leman | $53,543 |
Rep. Brad Buckley | $516,257 |
Rep. Briscoe Cain | $49,263 |
Rep. Brooks Landgraf | $33,500 |
Rep. Bryan Slaton | $2,500 |
Rep. Candy Noble | $13,500 |
Rep. Cecil Bell | $14,500 |
Rep. Charles Anderson | $445,084 |
Rep. Chris Paddie | $22,004 |
Rep. Cody Harris | $17,500 |
Rep. Cody Vasut | $17,281 |
Rep. Cole Hefner | $17,500 |
Rep. Craig Goldman | $289,196 |
Rep. Dan Huberty | $85,000 |
Rep. David Cook | $234,912 |
Rep. David Spiller | $0 |
Rep. Dennis Paul | $67,310 |
Rep. Dewayne Burns | $45,049 |
Rep. Drew Darby | $65,611 |
Rep. Dustin Burrows | $35,144 |
Rep. Ed Thompson | $32,391 |
Rep. Ernest Bailes | $72,932 |
Rep. Four Price | $45,565 |
Rep. Gary Gates | $10,000 |
Rep. Gary Vandeaver | $14,536 |
Rep. Giovanni Capriglione | $316,814 |
Rep. Glenn Rogers | $12,500 |
Rep. Greg Bonnen | $57,000 |
Rep. Hugh Shine | $30,500 |
Rep. J.M. Lozano | $554,961 |
Rep. Jacey Jetton | $640,873 |
Rep. Jake Ellzey | $83,839 |
Rep. James Frank | $21,500 |
Rep. James White | $499,893 |
Rep. Jared Patterson | $64,325 |
Rep. Jay Dean | $35,000 |
Rep. Jeff Cason | $26,250 |
Rep. Jeff Leach | $1,069,931 |
Rep. Jim Murphy | $113,174 |
Rep. John Cyrier | $39,495 |
Rep. John Frullo | $71,512 |
Rep. John Kuempel | $19,500 |
Rep. John Raney | $68,031 |
Rep. Justin Holland | $15,500 |
Rep. Keith Bell | $15,000 |
Rep. Ken King | $24,000 |
Rep. Kyle Biedermann | $20,000 |
Rep. Lacey Hull | $645,343 |
Rep. Lynn Stucky | $234,336 |
Rep. Matt Krause | $251,843 |
Rep. Matt Schaefer | $20,162 |
Rep. Matthew Shaheen | $671,251 |
Rep. Mayes Middleton | $22,500 |
Rep. Mike Schofield | $567,952 |
Rep. Phil King | $86,640 |
Rep. Phil Stephenson | $39,532 |
Rep. Reggie Smith | $60,589 |
Rep. Sam Harless | $202,163 |
Rep. Scott Sanford | $20,504 |
Rep. Shelby Slawson | $10,000 |
Rep. Stan Lambert | $36,000 |
Rep. Stephanie Klick | $29,000 |
Rep. Stephen Allison | $685,239 |
Rep. Steve Toth | $24,000 |
Rep. Tan Parker | $48,000 |
Rep. Terry Wilson | $18,500 |
Rep. Todd Hunter | $184,603 |
Rep. Tom Oliverson | $21,500 |
Rep. Tony Tinderholt | $157,000 |
Rep. Travis Clardy | $27,262 |
Rep. Trent Ashby | $24,500 |
Rep. Valoree Swanson | $37,533 |
Rep. William Metcalf | $20,319 |
Sen. Angela Paxton | $90,000 |
Sen. Bob Hall | $71,000 |
Sen. Brian Birdwell | $117,500 |
Sen. Bryan Hughes | $357,372 |
Sen. Charles Brandon Creighton | $219,500 |
Sen. Charles Perry | $245,364 |
Sen. Charles Schwertner | $98,007 |
Sen. Dawn Buckingham | $55,000 |
Sen. Donna Campbell | $248,275 |
Sen. Drew Springer | $86,137 |
Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr | $658,914 |
Sen. Jane Nelson | $78,500 |
Sen. Joan Huffman | $460,538 |
Sen. Kelly Hancock | $407,336 |
Sen. Larry Taylor | $1,064,079 |
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst | $88,000 |
Sen. Paul Bettencourt | $37,430 |
Grand Total | $14,551,949 |

An example of TLR’s campaign donations during the 2020 election.
Additionally, Co-founder and Senior Chairman of the TLR Board of Directors Dick Weekley has donated nearly $1.1 million to all but three of the bill’s sponsors.
Donations to SB 8 sponsors from Richard Weekley
Sponsor | Donations from Richard Weekley |
---|---|
Rep. Andrew Murr | $12,500 |
Rep. Ben Leman | $4,500 |
Rep. Brad Buckley | $5,000 |
Rep. Briscoe Cain | $9,000 |
Rep. Brooks Landgraf | $10,500 |
Rep. Bryan Slaton | $0 |
Rep. Candy Noble | $3,500 |
Rep. Cecil Bell | $3,000 |
Rep. Charles Anderson | $3,500 |
Rep. Chris Paddie | $7,000 |
Rep. Cody Harris | $5,000 |
Rep. Cody Vasut | $1,000 |
Rep. Cole Hefner | $2,500 |
Rep. Craig Goldman | $21,000 |
Rep. Dan Huberty | $12,500 |
Rep. David Cook | $5,000 |
Rep. David Spiller | $0 |
Rep. Dennis Paul | $10,000 |
Rep. Dewayne Burns | $11,000 |
Rep. Drew Darby | $11,000 |
Rep. Dustin Burrows | $8,000 |
Rep. Ed Thompson | $7,000 |
Rep. Ernest Bailes | $3,000 |
Rep. Four Price | $15,000 |
Rep. Gary Gates | $0 |
Rep. Gary Vandeaver | $3,000 |
Rep. Giovanni Capriglione | $7,000 |
Rep. Glenn Rogers | $2,500 |
Rep. Greg Bonnen | $26,500 |
Rep. Hugh Shine | $2,000 |
Rep. J.M. Lozano | $15,000 |
Rep. Jacey Jetton | $10,000 |
Rep. Jake Ellzey | $2,500 |
Rep. James Frank | $8,500 |
Rep. James White | $12,500 |
Rep. Jared Patterson | $3,500 |
Rep. Jay Dean | $4,500 |
Rep. Jeff Cason | $10,000 |
Rep. Jeff Leach | $14,500 |
Rep. Jim Murphy | $12,000 |
Rep. John Cyrier | $12,000 |
Rep. John Frullo | $12,000 |
Rep. John Kuempel | $8,500 |
Rep. John Raney | $6,000 |
Rep. Justin Holland | $1,000 |
Rep. Keith Bell | $3,500 |
Rep. Ken King | $11,000 |
Rep. Kyle Biedermann | $4,500 |
Rep. Lacey Hull | $10,000 |
Rep. Lynn Stucky | $9,500 |
Rep. Matt Krause | $8,500 |
Rep. Matt Schaefer | $4,000 |
Rep. Matthew Shaheen | $7,500 |
Rep. Mayes Middleton | $7,500 |
Rep. Mike Schofield | $24,000 |
Rep. Phil King | $19,000 |
Rep. Phil Stephenson | $4,500 |
Rep. Reggie Smith | $5,000 |
Rep. Sam Harless | $7,500 |
Rep. Scott Sanford | $5,500 |
Rep. Shelby Slawson | $1,000 |
Rep. Stan Lambert | $7,000 |
Rep. Stephanie Klick | $5,000 |
Rep. Stephen Allison | $5,000 |
Rep. Steve Toth | $4,500 |
Rep. Tan Parker | $12,500 |
Rep. Terry Wilson | $3,000 |
Rep. Todd Hunter | $41,000 |
Rep. Tom Oliverson | $10,000 |
Rep. Tony Tinderholt | $6,000 |
Rep. Travis Clardy | $4,500 |
Rep. Trent Ashby | $7,500 |
Rep. Valoree Swanson | $4,000 |
Rep. William Metcalf | $4,500 |
Sen. Angela Paxton | $10,000 |
Sen. Bob Hall | $22,500 |
Sen. Brian Birdwell | $20,000 |
Sen. Bryan Hughes | $30,000 |
Sen. Charles Brandon Creighton | $38,500 |
Sen. Charles Perry | $40,000 |
Sen. Charles Schwertner | $21,000 |
Sen. Dawn Buckingham | $35,000 |
Sen. Donna Campbell | $10,000 |
Sen. Drew Springer | $4,000 |
Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr | $77,804 |
Sen. Jane Nelson | $31,000 |
Sen. Joan Huffman | $35,000 |
Sen. Kelly Hancock | $24,000 |
Sen. Larry Taylor | $45,500 |
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst | $32,000 |
Sen. Paul Bettencourt | $23,500 |
Grand Total | $1,090,804 |
Texas Medical Association
The Texas Medical Association (TMA) is a nonprofit organization representing over 55,000 physicians and medical students. Members pay up to $573 a year in dues to support TMA’s goals:
Vision: To improve the health of all Texans
Mission: TMA stands up for Texas physicians by providing distinctive solutions to the challenges they encounter in the care of patients.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision not to block Texas’ abortion law, TMA issued a statement denouncing SB 8 and expressing shock that it was allowed to take effect:
The physicians of Texas never thought the day would come when the performance of our oath would create a private cause of action for persons not connected to or harmed by the action. Yet, that day has sadly arrived in the state we love. TMA is shocked the U.S. Supreme Court so far has not stopped the provisions of SB 8 that create a scheme of deputizing private citizens to carry out what the state itself cannot do, due to U.S. constitutional restrictions… Clearly these provisions are unconstitutional, in our opinion. TMA stands for the health care of all Texans and our profession.
Given such a strong statement, it would follow that TMA must also oppose the lawmakers who passed SB 8. On the contrary, the Texas Medical Association has given nearly $1.8 million to the bill’s sponsors.
Donations to SB 8 sponsors from the Texas Medical Association
Sponsor | TMA Donations |
---|---|
Rep. Andrew Murr | $9,564 |
Rep. Ben Leman | $7,657 |
Rep. Brad Buckley | $5,750 |
Rep. Briscoe Cain | $0 |
Rep. Brooks Landgraf | $6,294 |
Rep. Bryan Slaton | $0 |
Rep. Candy Noble | $250 |
Rep. Cecil Bell | $1,250 |
Rep. Charles Anderson | $9,089 |
Rep. Chris Paddie | $21,069 |
Rep. Cody Harris | $19,712 |
Rep. Cody Vasut | $2,500 |
Rep. Cole Hefner | $1,003 |
Rep. Craig Goldman | $3,521 |
Rep. Dan Huberty | $14,450 |
Rep. David Cook | $0 |
Rep. David Spiller | $0 |
Rep. Dennis Paul | $4,500 |
Rep. Dewayne Burns | $21,306 |
Rep. Drew Darby | $22,206 |
Rep. Dustin Burrows | $250 |
Rep. Ed Thompson | $4,000 |
Rep. Ernest Bailes | $29,193 |
Rep. Four Price | $49,327 |
Rep. Gary Gates | $0 |
Rep. Gary Vandeaver | $9,442 |
Rep. Giovanni Capriglione | $13,521 |
Rep. Glenn Rogers | $7,003 |
Rep. Greg Bonnen | $136,306 |
Rep. Hugh Shine | $15,924 |
Rep. J.M. Lozano | $17,000 |
Rep. Jacey Jetton | $600 |
Rep. Jake Ellzey | $1,500 |
Rep. James Frank | $1,250 |
Rep. James White | $2,000 |
Rep. Jared Patterson | $0 |
Rep. Jay Dean | $12,250 |
Rep. Jeff Cason | $2,700 |
Rep. Jeff Leach | $1,512 |
Rep. Jim Murphy | $11,023 |
Rep. John Cyrier | $12,780 |
Rep. John Frullo | $19,000 |
Rep. John Kuempel | $7,954 |
Rep. John Raney | $13,779 |
Rep. Justin Holland | $11,536 |
Rep. Keith Bell | $21,507 |
Rep. Ken King | $15,595 |
Rep. Kyle Biedermann | $0 |
Rep. Lacey Hull | $2,500 |
Rep. Lynn Stucky | $44,462 |
Rep. Matt Krause | $504 |
Rep. Matt Schaefer | $0 |
Rep. Matthew Shaheen | $250 |
Rep. Mayes Middleton | $250 |
Rep. Mike Schofield | $2,250 |
Rep. Phil King | $13,008 |
Rep. Phil Stephenson | $1,250 |
Rep. Reggie Smith | $8,408 |
Rep. Sam Harless | $500 |
Rep. Scott Sanford | $3,508 |
Rep. Shelby Slawson | $4,000 |
Rep. Stan Lambert | $6,934 |
Rep. Stephanie Klick | $1,500 |
Rep. Stephen Allison | $22,000 |
Rep. Steve Toth | $0 |
Rep. Tan Parker | $10,532 |
Rep. Terry Wilson | $0 |
Rep. Todd Hunter | $48,188 |
Rep. Tom Oliverson | $59,000 |
Rep. Tony Tinderholt | $0 |
Rep. Travis Clardy | $9,567 |
Rep. Trent Ashby | $17,701 |
Rep. Valoree Swanson | $0 |
Rep. William Metcalf | $12,444 |
Sen. Angela Paxton | $11,217 |
Sen. Bob Hall | $0 |
Sen. Brian Birdwell | $23,500 |
Sen. Bryan Hughes | $20,837 |
Sen. Charles Brandon Creighton | $67,888 |
Sen. Charles Perry | $13,000 |
Sen. Charles Schwertner | $177,252 |
Sen. Dawn Buckingham | $79,499 |
Sen. Donna Campbell | $60,500 |
Sen. Drew Springer | $10,876 |
Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr | $48,994 |
Sen. Jane Nelson | $266,414 |
Sen. Joan Huffman | $45,561 |
Sen. Kelly Hancock | $30,950 |
Sen. Larry Taylor | $33,750 |
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst | $51,045 |
Sen. Paul Bettencourt | $4,000 |
Grand Total | $1,781,112 |

An example of TMA’s campaign donations during the 2020 election.
TMA cannot argue it was unaware of the sponsors’ anti-abortion stances prior to the 2020 election, as 61 of the 91 lawmakers also sponsored a bill banning the use of dilation and evacuation abortions (Image x), the most common method for abortions provided after 12 weeks of pregnancy. Additionally, nearly half of the 40 sponsors who were in office at the time sponsored a 2013 bill that led to the closure of 23 abortion clinics, leaving just 19 to serve the state’s 7 million women of reproductive age.

Sponsors of 2013’s anti-abortion bill who also sponsored 2021’s SB 8.
TMA does not include any mention of abortion rights on its 2021 legislative priorities page. If the association is serious about its opposition to assaults on women’s health and autonomy, the group should probably stop funding lawmakers leading the charge and should publicly advocate for abortion rights before a harmful bill — like SB 8 — is passed by the legislature.
“It is true that TMA did not testify on either bill,” [Brent Annear, TMA spokesman] said in a statement. “Our advocacy does not solely occur in public legislative testimony, however; sometimes it occurs in private conversations with lawmakers. TMA has no policy regarding abortion; we have members whose opinions are on both sides of the issue.”
The lone Democrat
Of SB 8’s 91 sponsors, all were Republicans… except for one: Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr., a Democrat representing State Senate District 27 since 1991. The 27th District spans from the US-Mexico border to Kingsville, Texas, and is home to over 786,000 people. According to the most recent estimate (2015-2019), Lucio’s district is 91% Hispanic and 8% white. 16.8% of the population “does not speak English well or at all,” 29.8% live at or below the poverty level, and 33% of adults under 64 years old did not work in at least a year (pre-pandemic).

Democratic State Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr., (red circle) at the bill signing ceremony of SB 8.
Lucio’s constituents will be particularly impacted by SB 8. According to an analysis by the Center for Reproductive Rights, the closure of clinics after the state’s 2013 abortion law forced Latinas “to travel long distances to access abortion care — in some cases exceeding 200 miles to the nearest clinic.” Combined with high unemployment and poverty rates, anti-abortion policies in Texas contribute to an unintended pregnancy rate two times higher for Latinas than white women.
The Guttmacher Institute found that SB 8 will cause a 20-fold increase in the distance women must travel to obtain an abortion. For the poor, the cost will be prohibitive:
Just looking at the average increase in distance alone, someone making minimum wage ($7.25 an hour in Texas) would have to put more than 3.5 hours’ worth of earnings toward the cost of gas to cover the additional one-way cost of travel…That amounts to a full day’s earnings solely to pay for the additional amount of gas for each round trip. For anyone traveling to a state that requires multiple trips to an abortion provider, the financial burden is even higher. Beyond the cost of gas, a person who needs to travel for an abortion may also have to factor in lodging, child care, lost wages from time off work and other logistical expenses, in addition to the cost of the abortion.
Both Oklahoma and Louisiana, two of Texas’ three neighboring states, have mandatory waiting periods between a consultation and an abortion, adding to the time and money needed to get the procedure.
As a result, SB 8 becomes a ban on abortions for all but the rich. Lucio, representing a district in which a third of residents live below the poverty level, has done his constituents an extreme disservice in sponsoring this law.
The next anti-abortion bill
Texas Republicans, not satisfied with banning virtually all abortions in their state, have already passed another anti-abortion bill. Senate Bill 4 moves up the deadline for medication-based abortion from 10 weeks of pregnancy to the seventh week. All of the 79 sponsors of SB 4 also sponsored SB 8. With nothing standing in its way other than Gov. Abbott’s signature, SB 4 is almost sure to become law.
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